How to Start a Computer with Multiple Hardware Profiles
- The Startup menu adds the “Hardware Profile/Configuration Recovery Menu” menu with the “In Office”, “Out of Office”, and possibly the “New Hardware Profile” profiles. Click Out of Office, and then press ENTER.NOTE: New Hardware Profile may be added to the list to enable you to add new hardware profiles from this menu. If you choose this option, a new hardware profile is created with standard settings, such as standard VGA screen resolution. However, this profile is not saved on the list. Because of this, it is recommended that you choose one of the two existing hardware profiles.
- When the hardware profile is loaded for the first time, it is identical to the first profile, with network connectivity intact. If you receive any profile error messages when you log on to Windows, click OK or Continue to accept them and continue.
- Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click System, and then click the Hardware tab.
- Click Device Manager, and then locate and double-click the network adapter with the green network adapter icon.
- Under Device Usage, click Do not use this device in the current hardware profile (disable), and then click OK.NOTE: The “Do not use this device in any hardware profiles (disable)” profile disables all LAN connectivity.
- The Device Manager dialog box should display a red X across the network adapter to show it is disabled.NOTE: Modem connectivity is active in both profiles for dialing the corporate network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
- Restart your computer, and then choose the appropriate profile.
A third profile may be added to configure your Windows-based laptop computer for other environments. To accomplish this, create a new profile by following the steps listed earlier in this article, and then name the hardware profile according to your environment. For example, the following hardware profiles describe the network adapter type that is being used for LAN connectivity: